The gold price spiked to a near 10-month high on the morning of Tuesday 29th after North Korea launched a ballistic missile that flew over Japan.

The missile landed at around 6am on Tuesday in the waters off the east coast of Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest island, after the Japanese government issued an alert on the island urging residents to find shelter.

The price of gold jumped to £1,018.92 per troy ounce following the launch, as the tensions caused investors to seek a safe-haven for their assets.

Demand for the precious metal, which has a long history of stability even in times of economic uncertainty, is often high following geopolitical risks and uncertainty when traders seek safety from other more volatile markets.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen thinks investors are justified to be putting their faith in gold.

He told Reuters: “Stocks are coming off hard, the dollar has weakened and now also the yen, which has been the missing link, while bond yields are also taking a beating.”

The gold price high on the 29th wasn’t the first of the month, with rates rising to £1,005.93 on Friday 18th too as the dollar weakened in the wake of political uncertainty in the US and an Islamist attack in Spain.

Sixteen people were killed in a series of attacks in and around the Spanish city of Barcelona on Thursday, August 17th and in the early hours of the following morning.